Vaccinated and Vaccinating: The End May Be Near?

I was delighted to learn in early January that my institution, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), made the decision like many medical centers to offer the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to all employees, not just those at the front line of care delivery. I received my first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine on January 2nd and 23rd. I had some minor malaise the day after the second dose, but was thrilled to have received the vaccine.

I also decided that since I received an early dose, I would do everything I could to support the national and global effort to disseminate the vaccine. To that end, I have volunteered to work shifts at the OHSU Portland International Airport Vaccine Clinic. While I thought I might put my medical training to use giving injections, it turns out that the greater need was for registration and check-in personnel. I suppose it is most appropriate for the Chair of the informatics department to be checking in and scheduling follow-up appointments in Epic for those coming for their shots. But I actually enjoy the job I am doing at the site, interacting with people driving through the site and expressing gratitude they are able to get vaccinated. It is also nice to put on a friendly face for our university.

Overall, I feel a sense that the end may be near for the worst of this pandemic that has upended our lives. While the complete end will not come any time soon, and we will likely need to be vigilant about SARS-CoV-2 for years to come, I am hopeful that the vaccine rollout will continue at a strong pace and allow us to gradually resume more normal living. I am also encouraged that the COVID-19 numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are trending downward, and that we have new science-driven leadership in our federal government.

Looking ahead, I yearn to be around people at work, in social settings, and, yes, traveling. Regarding the latter, it has been almost a year since I have been on an airplane, although I am planning to visit my elderly stepfather, my last living adult relative, next month in Florida. He will have received his second dose a couple weeks before I visit.

There are many unanswered questions about what life will be like in the long run. Will work move to a more virtual arrangement? What will come of city centers that have been hurt by the pandemic and resulting economic and social upheaval? What will come of academic meetings and conferences, many of which probably could be done more virtually? Even though I spend a great deal of work time in front of a computer, I am still a social being. Social media has taken the sting off of the interpersonal isolation, but there is nothing like being around other people, and I am hopeful that much of that will eventually return. We will see as 2021 unfolds.